In the game, each type of belief has bonuses of a particular kind: Pantheon beliefs tend to have resource bonuses. Founder beliefs encourage you to spread the religion by giving you bonuses based on its spread, even or especially to other civs. Follower beliefs enable religious buildings or add bonuses to buildings.
So far in Gods and Things, Pantheon beliefs give you resource bonuses that center around increasing faith/science/production while decreasing population growth and culture. Your civilization becomes a bit stunted, but more powerful in other ways.
Next, I want to add Founder and Follower beliefs. Founder beliefs are going to do one of two things: give you bonuses while crippling your ability to spread the religion, or give maluses to foreign civs where the religion spreads. Follower beliefs, which will be the most difficult but fun to implement, will reward the player for doing bad things.
This is the preliminary line-up:
Founder
- Deep One Hybrids: +1 Food and +1 Gold from Gold tiles, Religion spreads to cities -50% further away
- White Ape Hybrids: +1 Food and +1 Gold from Jungle tiles, Religion spreads to cities -50% further away
- Fifth Column: Spy actions in foreign cities where this religion is present are easier
- A Shared Nightmare: Cultural influence on other civilizations with this religion is increased
- Hunger for Flesh: -20% Growth in foreign cities where this religion is present
- Cult of Terror: -2 Happiness in foreign cities where this religion is present
Follower
- Cult of the Atom: Receive faith from using nuclear weapons
- Cannibalism: +4 Food in all other cities while razing a city
- Death Cult: Receive faith from razing cities
- Strange Experiments: +20% science while razing a city
- Living Tribute: Receive culture and faith from tribute from city-states, which then lose population
- Enemy of Mankind: +20 happiness and +20 faith when at war with all other civilizations